Wagashi Forest Introduction
Tea master Ishizawa Ko is a graduate of the "Tea Industry Training Institute." In 1951, he was sent by the Japanese to work at the "Chimug Tea Factory," inheriting the tea-making techniques of the old tea masters from Japan, and served as the "Factory Director" until retirement. His passion and dedication to black tea witnessed the rise and decline of the Sun Moon Lake black tea industry. The Sun Moon Lake black tea was once extremely popular, flourishing from the early days of Japanese rule when cultivation began to the 1960s when tea plantations flourished, but due to changes in the tea industry and the influx of cheap foreign tea, the Sun Moon Lake black tea industry gradually declined. After sixty years of planting and making tea, the old tea master, with a deep affection for the land and hope for the industry, persisted in growing tea even when others became wealthy from betel nut farming. He chose to believe that black tea would one day regain its glory. Ishizawa's descendants, Stone Chuhua and Chen Yanquan, inherited their father's artisan spirit and tea-making techniques. In addition to painstakingly crafting good tea, they are determined to make it known and to recreate a new image for Sun Moon Lake black tea. In 2015, they established a tourist tea factory, providing a place to witness the historical and cultural development of the Sun Moon Lake black tea industry. It aims not only to educate more people about tea industry knowledge but also to contribute to the local cultural heritage and further promote the culture of Sun Moon Lake black tea, allowing the world to see the revival of tea artistry from Sun Moon Lake.
